


Michael Clifford Lassos a Star

by allsassnoclass (brightblackholes)



Series: Ficmas 2020 [10]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Presents, It's a Wonderful Life (1946) References, M/M, Secret Santa, Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:09:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28546137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightblackholes/pseuds/allsassnoclass
Summary: Michael has to find a present for Ashton for Secret Santa.  This is both a blessing and a curse.
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Ashton Irwin
Series: Ficmas 2020 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071215
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Michael Clifford Lassos a Star

**Author's Note:**

  * For [formidablehedgehog](https://archiveofourown.org/users/formidablehedgehog/gifts).



> Ficmas day 10. Wahoo!!!!!

Getting Ashton for Secret Santa is both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because Michael already knows what he wants to give him, a curse because he wants to give him the world. Well, more accurately he wants to give him the entire universe.

Ashton Irwin is arguably the universe’s finest creation, founded on stardust and made up of infinite galaxies. Michael has been in love with him since around the time they met. Ashton deserves something as wonderful and celestial as himself, but that would require Michael to suddenly develop the ability to trap the universe in the palm of his hands, cradled close until he could hand it off to someone worthy enough to hold it. Even if he could, the universe seems like a fragile thing. He’d probably drop it, knowing him.

Maybe getting Ashton was more of a curse than a blessing. If he can’t give him some sort of celestial body, he’s out of ideas. It’s probably for the best, because he’s not exactly keen on letting Ashton know that he’s been in love with him for so long, and you can’t give someone the entire universe without prompting a few questions.

He seeks out Calum for advice, because Calum is great at gifts, but he doesn’t want him to know who he got so he asks what he would give Luke instead.

It turns out Calum is so great at gifts because he knows exactly what each person needs. Knowing what Luke needs does nothing to help Michael figure out what to get Ashton.

Michael spends a lot of time googling stuff like _good gifts for friends_ and _good gifts for crushes_ and then backtracks, because most of those imply that he would be revealing his crush. The search for _good gifts for someone you’re in love with who is also one of your best friends WITHOUT letting them know you love them but still the best present_ yields no useful results. Michael doesn’t want to regurgitate generic “sentimental” gifts suggested in lists on various websites, he wants something that Ashton will truly appreciate. He wants to get him something that only someone who knows him would give him.

He’s pretty sure buying presents isn’t supposed to make you want to pull out all of your hair, but Michael wants to pull out all of his hair. The one solace is that they selected their people early, so he still has a lot of time to figure out a suitable present.

-/-

Michael mostly forgets about the stresses of Secret Santa for a while. He has to get presents for other people, too, so he focuses on that, and decorating the house, and baking some Christmas cookies, and everything except Ashton’s present. Unfortunately, this means that by the time Ashton hosts his yearly _It’s a Wonderful Life_ watch party, it’s late enough that Michael should start panicking a little.

Each year, Ashton invites as many friends as can fit in his basement over to watch his favorite Christmas movie. He used to watch it with his mom every year, and even though they live physically far apart he once told Michael that it makes him feel closer to her. Over the years, the night has turned into an entire event. Ashton sets up a projector and prepares more snacks than can be eaten. Michael attends every year, even though the movie seems to get longer every time he watches it. Last year he kept dozing off, enough so that Ashton had let him curl on the couch with his head in his lap and sleep for most of the second half. The weight of Ashton’s hand resting on his shoulder and the occasional gentle fingers brushing over his hair are something Michael thinks about often.

This year he ends up in an armchair, Luke between his legs on the floor and Ashton all the way on the other side of the room. It makes him focus on the movie a bit more, and during the scene where George asks what Mary wants and says he’ll lasso the moon Michael thinks _yeah dude, you get it._

Unfortunately he is not George and Ashton is not Mary, and by the time he leaves his house that night, lingering late enough that Ashton offers to let him stay, he is no closer to figuring out his gift.

-/-

Michael can’t lasso the moon, but maybe he was onto something there.

He can’t stop thinking about space. Ashton has always had an appreciation for it, but since his trip to the desert where he was finally able to see the Milky Way unobstructed he’s developed a new fascination with it. He’s not going to be an astronomer, but he knows more about constellations than Michael does, and he knows a lot about astrology even if he doesn’t fully believe in it.

Michael has wanted to give him the universe this entire time. Maybe instead of finding a different present, he should focus on figuring out a way to do that.

Maybe he should just get Ashton one of those model solar system kits that kids assemble for science projects. That would be giving him the universe in a punny way that he might appreciate, but then he’ll have to explain that _give you the universe was his original goal,_ which will still prompt questions. Without that sentiment, it’s kind of a crummy gift.

He needs something that isn’t punny but that manages to accomplish his goal without revealing that he’s in love. He’ll find a way to accomplish that out of sheer stubbornness if he has to.

-/-

Schedules don’t properly align for a full group Secret Santa exchange, so everyone is tasked with contacting their present recipient and setting up a time to give them their gift. Michael sends Ashton a text that reads _hey when do you want your secret santa present_ and gets a string of emojis in response. Eventually he manages to wrangle a time from him and loads the present into his car.

It’s a decent gift, in his opinion. He’s both relieved and nervous about having to give it to Ashton without the full group, because there’s significantly less people who can judge him but there’s significantly more opportunity for Ashton to ask uncomfortable questions.

The drive feels longer than it should. That doesn’t bode well.

Michael lets himself in once he gets to the house, because there’s no telling where inside Ashton might be. He calls his name and gets an answer in the direction of the bedroom, toeing off his shoes and getting rid of his coat before setting off towards his destination. Ashton is sitting on the bed, scribbling something furiously in a journal. Michael waits until he’s done and tosses the small leather book aside to fully enter the space.

“Hi,” Ashton says, beaming.

“Hi,” Michael says. “Special delivery.”

The package in his hands is rectangular and flat, covered with shiny red and green paper. Ashton eyes it curiously, taking it when offered and frowning at the weight.

“There’s a few parts, so be careful,” Michael says.

“I will.”

Ashton tears through the paper inelegantly, strips of it floating down to the floor, and Michael watches him read the framed certificate on top.

“I got you a star,” Michael says. “That’s the certificate for it, and it’s under your name in a database. There’s a star map, so you can try to find it the next time you have a clear sky.”

“Michael, this is amazing,” Ashton says, aglow with enthusiasm. “This is so fucking cool!”

He looks at the star map, eyes tracking over the many tiny dots on it and the one circled that’s his.

“Wow. My very own star.”

It wasn't quite the whole universe or lassoing the moon, but Michael thinks he did alright given the circumstances.

The next frame is a bit bigger, a blue background with a white star chart and lettering at the bottom that reads _July 7, 1994 - a star is born._

_“Tell me something, boy,”_ Ashton croons. “Which one of us is Lady Gaga and which one of us is Bradley Cooper?”

“Neither of us,” Michael sighs. He wants to facepalm. He knew this was a risk when he put that inscription. “Did you even watch that movie? You want us to end up like them?”

“No,” Ashton says.

“You’re the star,” Michael says. “It’s a map of the sky when you were born. I thought it was a fitting caption.”

“Aw,” Ashton says. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“You don’t have to make fun,” Michael says, embarrassment flaring inside him. This was a last-minute decision off one of those generic lists, and he’s regretting it. Getting teased for his crush was not something he anticipated nor wanted today, especially since Ashton should know better.

“I’m not making fun,” Ashton says, tearing his eyes away from the chart to look up at Michael and frown. “You just compared me to an actual celestial body. That’s really fucking sweet. The only thing sweeter would be if someone wrote me a proper love song.”

Michael could try his hand at that.

He shrugs.

“It’s almost romantic,” Ashton says. Michael’s breath freezes in his chest. Ashton puts the gifts down on his bed and shifts so he can face Michael fully, eyes assessing.

“Do you have feelings for me?” he asks.

_Brush it off,_ Michael tells himself. _Laugh and call him bro and say you don’t._

There seems to be a communication delay between his mind and his body, because Michael doesn’t do any of those things. He stands there like a deer in headlights, paralyzed the longer Ashton looks at him.

“It’s okay if you do,” Ashton says. “I just want to know.”

Well what the fuck is he supposed to say to that?

_No!_

What comes out sounds more like a choking cat.

“Okay,” Ashton says. “You want to sit down?”

Again the answer is no, but that word seems to have left his vocabulary, so he sinks onto the bed next to Ashton. He reaches out a gentle hand and places it on his forearm.

“You know, you not saying anything is making me nervous, but I’m just going to keep going. You can tell me to stop at any time,” Ashton says. “I like you, and I’ve been getting the impression that you like me, too. If that’s wrong, then correct me, but if that’s right then you don’t have to be embarrassed or upset, because it’s mutual.”

Michael turns the words over in his head, giving them a second perusal to ensure he had heard correctly.

“What?”

“Oh, he speaks,” Ashton says dryly.

“I was not picking up any vibes from you,” Michael says. “Now you expect me to believe you _like_ me?”

“Well it’s not like I wanted you to know,” Ashton says. “Seriously, do you think I let anyone sleep through _It’s a Wonderful Life_? You got lucky last year because I like you.”

Now that he thinks about it, Ashton might have a point. Other people who doze off get food thrown at them with the excuse that they should have stayed home if they were planning on sleeping.

“Huh,” Michael says.

“So,” Ashton says, “do you like me? You never actually confirmed it.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Look, I’m processing a lot right now. I bought you a fucking star, Ashton. Use your context clues.”

“Use my context clues? What are you, my literature teacher?”

“What about your boyfriend?”

Nice. That was smooth.

Ashton smiles. Just like that, the bridge Michael was standing on made of their banter melts into a gooey mess, dropping him into a bunch of sappy feelings below. He could bask in that smile forever, shining brighter than all of the stars in the sky.

“That sounds good to me,” Ashton says. Michael smiles shyly back, something that makes Ashton’s eyes crinkle at the edges. He reaches out and squeezes his hand, something he’s going to be able to do freely now, and Ashton tangles their fingers together.

All things considered, Michael thinks he one-upped George Bailey here. George said he was going to lasso the moon and then didn’t even do that. Michael bought Ashton a whole fucking star and got his own star in return. He’s probably the luckiest man in the universe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [allsassnoclass!](http://allsassnoclass.tumblr.com)


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